Meter leveling saddles are widely used to mount flow meters to pipes. With such meters, proper operation for accurate readings is paramount and such proper operation is in large part dependent upon supporting the meter on the pipe in a true vertical position.
The most commonly used meter mounting is believed to be the one of U.S. Pat. No. 2,264,553 to Robinson. This patented mounting includes a two-piece saddle having a first part or base which is mounted on the pipe and a second part which is pivotly mounted to the base and carries the meter. In operation, the base is rotated about the pipe's longitudinal axis to the desired position and secured in place against tipping and rocking on the pipe by a U-bolt (see lines 47-50 of column 2 on page 1 of the patent). The second or top part is then leveled about an axis transverse to the pipe's axis by manipulating two bolts. In contrast to this patented mounting, the mounting of the present invention has a one-piece saddle offering significant savings in weight and complexity of design. It also offers enhanced simplicity of operation in that the leveling about the axis transverse to the pipe's axis is accomplished by manipulating a single bolt rather than the two bolts of Robinson. Further, the single bolt of the present invention contacts the pipe directly and forms part of the seating engagement of the mounting on the pipe. Since the bolt is adjustable and taken with the unique, flaring design of the rear portion of the saddle engaging the pipe, a wide variety of different sized pipes can be readily fitted with the mounting of the present invention. This is in contrast to the design of Robinson whose base engages the pipe at three fixed areas limiting the range of pipe sizes it will fit (see lines 47-50 of column 2 on page 2 of the patent) and requiring a user not only to maintain an inventory of different sized bases but also to carry different sized bases into the field if the exact size of the pipe or pipes is not known ahead of time.
Other mountings in this general area are U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,858 to Wandler (which like Robinson calls for the manipulation of two bolts) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,481 to Cacicedo.